The below was take from the CreateSpace Community on Amazon. Maybe it will clear up some things about how royalties work.

***********************Recently, some of you have posted concerns with your reported royalties from CreateSpace. We want you to know that the majority of these specific concerns were addressed individually in order to maintain customer privacy. With the recent posts surrounding this topic, we thought it would be helpful to share some general information with all members.

CreateSpace values customer trust above all else; when you are successful, we are successful. Accurately reporting your royalties is important as we work to develop and build a solid business relationship with each and every one of our members. Building customer trust will always be at the forefront of what we do.

CreateSpace royalties are not reported in real-time or immediately after a sale occurs. While at times you may see sales right away, it is not always the case. As a refresher:

Expanded Distribution Channel (EDC) sales can take up to eight weeks to be reported.

Amazon MP3 & Video Download sales are reported approximately 30 days after the end of the month in which the sales took place.

Retailers, including Amazon.com, allow third-parties to sell product on their website. CreateSpace does not have control over these listings including the price at which your title is sold, the condition (new or used) your title is listed in or any other product details. Here are some typical examples on how these listings work:

Titles can be listed for sale without physical inventory on-hand. When the seller receives a customer order, they in-turn place an order from Amazon.com or CreateSpace. At that time, your title is manufactured; you earn a royalty, and the title is shipped to the end customer.

If you are enrolled in the EDC, third-party sellers can source your book to fulfill orders through the EDC. Once the title is manufactured, you will receive an EDC royalty within 8 weeks.

Sellers can list a used copy of your title for sale. If a used copy is sold, you will not receive a royalty for this sale because you previously received the royalty when the title was manufactured and originally sold.

When you purchase member copies from CreateSpace, you receive them at a discounted price and do not earn a royalty. If you give these copies away or sell them to a wholesaler, it’s possible that these copies may eventually become available for purchase through a retail site; once your book is in distribution, it can change hands multiple times. If this occurs, you will not receive a royalty for the sale of the title because the title is resold using a book that you originally purchased at a discounted rate.

Books enrolled in the EDC. Retailers, including Amazon.com may, at their discretion, fulfill an order from any avenue where you have made your book available, including through the EDC. Although this rarely occurs, if Amazon.com sources an order from the EDC instead of CreateSpace, we will enter the appropriate royalty adjustment once the EDC sale is reported. EDC royalties can take up to eight weeks to appear in your report.

Retailers may accept customer returns and order cancellations, which means every retail sale will not result in a title being manufactured which is how you earn royalties through CreateSpace. For example, if a customer returns an order to the retailer, that copy may be placed on the shelf until another customer order is placed. When a new order is received, the retailer may fulfill that order with the copy in inventory. Therefore, you will not receive a royalty for this sale as you previously received a royalty when the title was originally manufactured.

CreateSpace performs routine checks of our systems to ensure all royalties are being reported accurately.

We hope this information has been helpful and appreciate your attention. Once again, we want to stress our dedication to accurately reporting your royalties and to our promise to provide you with excellent service. As always, if you have specific questions about your royalties, please contact Member Support.